Columbia Pictures has released a second movie trailer for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck‘s The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp and co-stars Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell and Timothy Dalton. The first trailer was released a few years back, and Russ called it “entertaining in a fluff sort of way.” Watch the new trailer after the jump. And please leave your thoughts in the comments below. Read More »

I’m half amazed that cameras even managed to roll on The Tourist, much less that there is now a trailer. The film, which was finally directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp plus co-stars Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell and Timothy Dalton, took so long to come together, with so many cast and director changes, that this trailer is proof of just how single-minded the Hollywood machine can be, when it wants to. Plus, it’s entertaining in a fluff sort of way. Read More »

It’s not much to go on, but this first still from The Tourist, starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is remarkable simply for the fact that it exists. There were so many recastings and director changes that I’m vaguely impressed by the fact that this remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer is actually rolling.

To recap: this was to star Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, then Sam Worthington replaced Cruise before Johnny Depp replaced Worthington. Theron stepped out and Jolie stepped in. Meanwhile, Bharat Nalluri was going to direct, then von Donnersmarck came on, then he walked, Alfonso Cuarón was briefly courted as director, then von Donnersmarck came back. Whew. What’s the movie about? Spies, basically. Or, as The Sun (source of this photo) says,

Depp is “Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy after experiencing heartache in his personal life. While taking in the sights of Venice, he meets Elise (Angelina) who deliberately crosses his path. Frank falls for her charms and the pair are soon caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger.”

Movies have talent come and go all the time, but most of the movement happens way behind the scenes, often before a film is ever announced. Once the existence of a project is trumpeted to people outside of development, it’s pretty much set. A name might come or go, but there won’t be a huge amount of movement.

Not so with The Tourist, which since announcement has had a remarkable parade of stars and directors. I won’t run them all down again, because I’ve done it before (a couple of times), but things have changed once more. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director of the Oscar-winning The Lives of Others, is once again directing after having walked away back in November. Read More »

This is a pretty great development, at least for the cast and crew of The Tourist. The film has gone through a lot of personnel tweaks, as we’ve reported over the last few weeks. The cast finally settled down, with Angelina Jolie and Sam Worthington set as the two leads. With those in place, it seems like the director’s chair formerly held by Bharat Nalluri will be filled by a great talent: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who won the 2007 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for his film The Lives of Others. Read More »

What is the 28th Amendment? It’s a project conceived by the screenwriting team of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the guys who wrote Transformers, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible II and The Island. Described as The Firm set in the White House, the story follows the new President of the United States who discovers the for a good part of the 20th century, a secret cabal has been running the government. Anyone who defies the secret gang’s wishes will end up murdered (apparently JFK’s assassination is connected to the group). It’s an interesting premise which has been done in different variations in comic books (100 Bullets), video games (Metal Gear Solid) and Dan Brown novels.

The project has gotten passed from director to director — Neil Jordan and Philip Noyce had both been in talks to helm the project at some point. But now Warner Bros is in talks with The Lives of Others helmer Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck to direct the project, with both Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington as potential stars. Cruise has at least eight projects on his plate, and is trying to decide which one will be next. So it’s very likely that the cast could change.